His explanation is that the profit will be taxed as ordinary income irrespective of the desire to use 1031...is this accurate?

Until then here is a nifty shaped patio we did on that unit yesterday.

@Karen Margrave We have the same set up in our Patio/Gazebo.

Income from flipping is ordinary income, not short term cap gains.

We'll have a paver patio for half the back yard then grass (hopefully) for the rest. 

If she takes out a distribution from her retirement account prior to normal retirement age the consequences would be ordinary income taxes plus penalties.

Don't flip, hold for a reasonable time and do a 1031 tax deferred exchangeIt is ordinary income.... so no real estate benefits other than cashTake the profits from your flip and invest that money into something that will compensate you for the loss in taxes you will have to reportDo more flips, pay your tax and enjoy your wealthHave fun, spend some of that money on yourself.....

At the same time, you can have an entirely separate account that solely focuses on long term holdings and reap the benefit of a lower tax rate categorized as capital gains as opposed to ordinary income. 

- Repairs to rental property (provided the repairs are ordinary, necessary, and reasonable in amount) are fully deductible in the year in which they are incurred.- Travel (local and long distance) tax deduction whenever one drives anywhere for their rental or business activity.

They also set up a full size refrigerator right on the back patio.